Yahoo Search Goes Mobile
October 28, 2004 | Levent OZLER
Yahoo Inc. for the first time is letting mobile phone users query its search engine, giving them access to conventional Web results, local business listings and related information, as well as images, such as pictures and maps, the company said Wednesday.
The service will launch Wednesday on several U.S. carriers. Users can access the services from a data-enabled phone by going to mobile yahoo com.
The mobile data market is now taking off, but simplification is key to capturing mobile users, said Yahoo Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig, who announced the mobile search service in a speech at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association Wireless IT & Entertainment trade show in San Francisco.
Out of 137 million people who use the Web in the U.S., more than 30% also use mobile data, Rosensweig said. Meanwhile, 79% of Yahoo Web site U.S. users also have a mobile phone, he added.
The service also features "search shortcuts" that let users request specific information, such as weather data, stock quotes, sport scores and flight information.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo had previously provided mobile-phone access to its e-mail and instant messaging services.
more: computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,1080 (123)
153 impressions - 64,067 clicks
